Mirador 2/5/10 Entertainment 17

by Alex Seclow

Who would have thought that animated blue creatures could create such a following? The newly released movie Avatar, directed by James Cameron, earned around $70 mil-lion opening weekend and is quickly approaching Cameron’s Titanic, the greatest grossing movie of all time.

The movie is having a strange and mesmorizing effect on some people. After seeing the movie they become depressed that a dream-like place like Pandora does not really exist. The idea of Pandora makes them realize just how imperfect our world is.

People are experiencing these so-called “Avatar Blues” partly because Cameron spent copious amounts of money and time making the utopian Pandora seem so authentic. Accord-ing to Wired Magazine, he even hired USC linguistic expert Paul Frommer to create a language for the native people of Pandora, the Na’vi. Frommer worked for 13 months to form the language, including the grammatical structure, and throughout filming he instructed the actors on correct pronunciation.

With the help of Jodie Holt, chair of UC Riverside’s botany and plant sciences department, Cameron created

detailed descriptions of the plants and wildlife on Pandora and then organized them into taxonomy. Cameron, along with experts, writers, and editors, put together Pandorape-dia, a 350-page manual about the culture, science, and life on the planet. Then Cameron sent the actors to a jungle in Hawaii where they went “native” for three days to prepare them to move like the Na’vi. As a young boy, Cameron

was inspired by Edgar Rice Burroughs’ stories about Tar-zan.

The film contains a environ-mental message as the story in-volves developed people who need to learn from the indig-enous people. The Na’vi have a close connection to Mother Nature, which is in danger of coroporate takeover. This idea has caused critics to draw par-allels to U.S. digging for oil in foreign countries.

The plot of Avatar is seem-ingly unoriginal, following the cliché idea of white suprema-cists’ exploitive treatment of the peaceful and innocent na-tives, while the main characters turn on their own misaligned civilization. Despite the simi-larity to earlier films, such as The Day the Earth Stood Still, Pocahontas, and Dances with

Wolves, Cameron’s character development, vivid imagi-nary world, and use of newfound technology and science makes Avatar unique and worthy of Academy Awards.

In a statement, Time critic Richard Corliss accurately asserts that “for years to come [Avatar] will define what movies can achieve.”

Groundbreaking Avatar Sweeps Box Office

2010: Is That Hot or Not Right Now? We have all watched fads come and go over the years. Remember Giga-Pets, Razor Scooters, Furbies, and Sky Dancers? As we enter into a new decade, Mirador took the time to reflect on past trends and upcoming fads that have taken this year by storm. Come 2011, chances are that some of these current trends will be forgotten and replaced by something even hotter. Right now, here is what’s in and what’s out:

by Kelsey Williams and Davis Louie

Photo: MCT Campus/Handout

Avatar’s main characters Neytiri and Jake Sully prepare to defend Pandora.

Ins OutsFacebookTwitter

Klean Kantene/Camelback/SiggPlaid/flannel

Loafers/moccasinsLate/L8

HeadphonesCall of Duty

Tight jeans on menThugs

Mr. ClarkFro-yoJerkingBeanies

Headbands/bowsLady Gaga

GleeBrian Friel

Phil MickelsonObamaiPhone

ScrambleMHS sports

HuluGossip Girl

BombHip

Bro-time

Kid CudiWall-ball

60’s surf cultureGo Green

Flannel Friday

Director Cameron’s latest film revolutionizes the Hollywood film industry, intriguing viewers

MyspaceBloggingNalgene

Polo shirtsConverse

Pwned/OwnedEar buds

HaloSagging

White trashMr. ZamoraIce-cream

Krumping or “soulja boy-ing”Flat-brimmed hats

Katy PerryHigh School Musical

Aleck RynerTiger Woods

BushRazor (rzr)Scrabble

Campo sportsLive TV

Gilmore GirlsAwesome

SceneHanging out with girls

Kanye WestDodgeball

90’s Angst cultureWho cares?

Flannel any other day

Photos: K. Williams

Clockwise from left: 1) A Mirador staff writer flaunts his tight jeans. 2) An alternative to the formerly popular Nalgene water bottles, Klean Kanteens are now largely used on and off campus. 3) Students on campus are proving that loafers are no longer just for sailors.

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